12546/One more present for the tree.

One more present for the tree.
Date of Scene:	12 December 2020
Location:	66 East 11th Street, Greenwich Village
Synopsis:	Megan visits Andrea and Nevada to drop off gifts and seeks advice on being a newbie superhero.
Cast of Characters:	Pixie, Rage, Barghest

---

Pixie has posed:
It's early evening when Megan calls and asks to drop by Andrea's place, sounding a little exhausted from a long day of classes. But as Christmas nears along with Midterms, she knows she might not have many free moments. It's a nice mild night with a light spattering of snow falling outside, not enough to impede traffic but just enough to cover the windows in a magical white glitter. Good thing she can just cheat and hop across town with her porting ability though, but Megan is at least considerate enough to ring the buzzer to Andrea's apartment, wearing a festive red and white candy striped shirt underneath a green cardigan and denim jeans, her maroon wooly pea coat worn over all of this. As she waits, she carries a soft medium sized package - hand wrapped and adorned in silver glitter paper, fastened with a bright pink bow - under one arm.

Rage has posed:
After a long day of classes herself, followed by a couple of work calls, Andrea is finally done for the day. She is sprawled out on the couch with a large bowl of popcorn wearing a pair of silky pajama pants and a button down sleep shirt. She has no plans to go back out in the cold New York day, so she is dressed down and enjoying some snacks in front of the TV.

Currently she is covering some pop-buzz which isn't really all that juicy. At least she's not in the headlines. At the sound of the buzzer, she glances over, then shifts the bowl over to hop to her feet. Opening the door, she gives her a bright grin. "Heeeey! Come on in. Nevada is here too."

Barghest has posed:
"No I'm not." Echoes a voice from up nearer the ceiling. "I'm a figment of your imagination."

Nevada is up on the landing in a pair of baggy sweatpants and a t-shirt, apparently roused from his nearby room at the noise. He's got a bag of pretzels curled under one arm which he absently dips into and pops a twist into his mouth with a crunch and a grin.

"Heeeey Megan. Sup?" He asks as he meanders barefooted down the stairs.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn smiles as she steps in, looking tired, but happy to see a couple of old friends. "Hiii! How've you been?" she skips over the threshold, trying to balance the two gifts in one hand while leaning over to give Andrea a one armed hug, a precarious pose with those two gifts threatening to slide off her other hand.

She peers up at the landing, smiling brightly at Nev, "Hey! Didn't know you were here too, you look better than last we met." she grins, remembering how ragged he looked after fighting that demon monster thingy to save her mom.

Rage has posed:
"I'm doing great, now that I'm not getting shot at again." Andrea says as she gives her a hug in return. "You brought prezzies?" She says with a gleam in her eyes. "The kind I gotta wait for Christmas to open?"

Looking up at Nevada, then back to her, she lifts her brows upwards. "Yeah, speaking of... he saved your mom and you still didn't ask him out?" She says with a scoff.

Barghest has posed:
"Thanks. They're diet." Nevada rattles the pretzel bag - which are not diet - in the air at Megan's comment. His expressions are clear in that he understands, he's just teasing her.

He rolls up his eyes at the pestering from his sister. "Hey, I don't ask for rewards for my good deeds. I am content in my confirmation that I have some clutch skills when needed. Speaking of, though, how's she doing?" He asks as he leaves his pretzel bag next to the couch and walks over, hands out to help carry anything if needed.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn smiles at Andrea and nods, "I'm glad you're safe, I was a bit worried, but of course I know you take care of yourself!" she smiles and shoves the silver gift with pink bow at Andrea, the black holographic gift wrapped in a green bow handed to Nevada, and she steps over to give him a quick hug too.

"Good to see you again too, Nev..I still feel like I owe you one.." she does make a face at Andrea, "Cmon, I'm already seeing someone...Well, I was although, I guess he's not really aroyoud much lately.." she sighs and shrugs, soyouding almost regretful there.

"Well anyway, why don't you go and open them?"

Rage has posed:
"And yet, here is my really cute twin brother, who is suddenly not single now that he's dating one of my classmates." Andrea says with a grin as she bumps her shoulder to Nevada's.

Heading over to the couch, she flops down upon it, giving a long stretch, then pokes at her present. "I should wait for Christmas. That way it's more fun and it's a surprise." She points at the large tree that is set up. Freshly cut. Decorated with whites and blues, as well as a couple of whatever the Guthrie clan sent over.

"So, Conner isn't around much?"

Barghest has posed:
Nevada gives the pixie a firm hug and a beaming smile as he hoists up the gift and meanders over to the couch. He huffs to his sister on the way to go get a seat, though not without returning the shoulder bump.

"Nothing that formal yet. It's... hard, ya know? She's awesome, but she's human. So far I've been able to excuse me needing to sneak off here and there, nothing has been too dramatic. I just don't know how I'll deal when it does. Because it will, someday."

Unlike his sister, he does open the gift. The gifter is right there and tomorrow they may all be dead, so why wait?

"Okay, that's pretty sweet." He chuckles as he dons the knit cap with the two black ears sticking up. "And comfy. Whatcha think, sis?"

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn quirks a curious brow at Nev, "Oh yeah? She sounds..Nice.I'm happy for you.." to Andrea, she shakes her head, "ohhh, Cmon, open it now! I can't wait to see if you two like my gifts or not, besides you probably lots of gifts to spare!"

As for Conner, Megan just shrugs, "I Dunno, guess he's just busy with superheroics or something, seemed stressed with school too. Guess I've been pretty busy myself. I mean, between my waitressing job, Xmen and school..I dunno, I'm kinda looking forward to Winter break.."

Rage has posed:
"Fiiine, I'll open it. And yes, she's nice. Her name is Grace. She's going into theater. Has a set of lungs on her built for Broadway." Andrea says as she thumbs the tape of the present open neatly so not to tear through the paper. She likes it, she may refuse that for a gift later.

When she takes out the wolf hat, she giggles loudly, then plops it on her head. "This is super cute! I love it. You look adorable, Nev." She smirks up at him.

Barghest has posed:
"Yah, you've all been hitting the news." Nevada says with his cheery demeanor fading back slightly. He leans back further in the couch with a low sigh.

"Speaking of that, you sure there's nothing I can do to help out? I kinda hate sitting around seeing people ripping on my sister and friends. I could just keep chasing those protestors, chew out their tires, follow them home and eat their cats? Just some crazy mutt harassing them, no one'll even blink. Probably rabies."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn frowns a bit, "Theatre huh..I'm taking a course or two in theatre too. Figured I'd try a bit of everything, acting, dancing, singing..But I dunno. I seem to be decent in all three but not exceptional in anything. And trying to be a popstar is tough when your band just broke up..Wish I knew what to do with my life.."

Megan sighs a bit as she flops into a nearby chair, looking tired. "Hmmm well, I'm glad you liked the gifts, I made em myself. Helps keep me focused." she smiles faintly but seems drained still.r
Looking to Nev, she smiles again and shrugs, "Could always use a helping hand if there are any more rioters. But wouldn't want you to become a target for standing up,for us. It's a bit scary, the idea of being able to neutralize our powers.."

Rage has posed:
"Megan, you're a /superhero/ living in a big ass mansion rent free with a huge kitchen. You also just graduated high school. You aren't supposed to know what you want to do with your life. I also don't know why everyone wants to be a popstar though. It's not easy waking up every day to a million messages on your socials telling you that you're fat, or ugly, or you should burn because you're mutie scum. The negative is always louder than the positive. Then there is the ninety hour work weeks on top of whatever else you're doing like school. Tours are exhausting. Some days it's a bus, some days it's a plane. You touch down, get three hours sleep, up to rehearse, squeeze out a shit, do the concert, go to bed exhausted, wake up with a sore throat, take a few shots, hydrate with an IV, do it again a few hours later."

Andrea plays with the wolf gloves as she puts them on, wiggling her new paws with a giggle. "It's only fun when you go on break and you can wear sweat pants instead of mini skirts and haltertops. You wanted to be an X-Man. Now you are. Are you regretting it or something?" She asks as she kicks her feet up across Nev's lap, giving her toes a wiggle.

Barghest has posed:
"And then you get weird ass relatives you never knew about showing up at your door and moving in and mooching your snacks."

Nevada grins as he plucks out the small knit dog and wiggles it like it was cocking it's head towards Megan. "If people are shooting at a dog, then you know there's no saving them. Good chance for recon if you don't want me biting ankles. Least this cure of theirs probably wouldn't hurt me, even if someone got suspicious. At least I could help try and do something, but, if nothing else I'm happy to just stick by you if you need to head out in public. Guard your backs."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn sighs and shakes her head, "I guess that was the impression Dazzler gave too, and I dunno, guess it was always a childhood dream of mine to be a singer. Yknow, I was always a huge fan of both you and Dazzler, always wanted to inspire people, be so,e sorta flashy entertainer like an actress or dancer which I'm pretty good at...But maybe it was just a pipe dream.."

Megan does seem depressed though, "And that's just the thing, being an Xman, living in a mansion is cool and all. But it's , it's more like I'm just bumming off a rich millionaire. Don't get me wrong, I love the work we do, I love saving people, being a superhero..I guess sometimes it's a bit intimidating though. I mean all the other Xmen are older, they're tight, close friends. I'm the awkward newcomer, the green newbie. I'm not particularly close to anyone. And I'm too old to hang with the New Mutants anymore, but too young to be an inner circle member or BFF of any of the Xmen."

Megan draws a deep breath, sinking further into the chair, "I guess it felt like no one takes me seriously either. The other day, at the mutant clinic when we were caught in the middle of gunfire, I was charged with Shannon's safety. But rather than let me port her somewhere safe she just runs off into the thick of battle. Sure she ran *away* from the fight but she could have got seriously hurt. And she got mad at me!"

Rage has posed:
"Then light her up. She can't just yeet herself in the middle of combat if someone gave you an order to take care of her. Just like how much I wanted to go full woofy and help out, I had to do what my security detail told me to do. I love Shan and all, but she always does that stuff and one day it's gonna get her or someone else hurt."

Andrea wiggles her paws about before she slides them off. ""It's why Jay and I didn't join the X-Men. I wouldn't be good at following orders. I'd just wolf out and throw a car or something. That and you know.. celebrity. Maybe you need to sit her down and explain that when you're on the clock, that's your job and she needs to listen to you. A good friend would understand."

Barghest has posed:
"I imagine every new person on any team anywhere feels like that." Nevada says quietly. "Probably just takes time, it's only been a few months, right? I'd say if she's not respecting you as above her, well... granted, Andrea and I kinda hit those ideas of rank a little harder, but. I dunno, if she doesn't obey, then just yeah, remind her in that you're the superior. Get your superiors to back you up if you need. Obedience is important on the field. Unless it's an absolutely wrong call that goes against anything moral or something, you do it then and deal with the fallout after."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn chuckles a bit at Andrea's admission, "I mean, to be fair, having mostly defensive powers makes it easier for me to hang back and keep people out of danger. Funny thing is, I kinda wonder if Shannon simply has more experience than me, I mean she once talked of fighting frost giants in Asgard, getting caught up in some huge super secret conspiracy involving some shapeshifter or spy or something, training with Captain America, befriending a god or two or ten, heck, she's buddies with a giant robot!

She sighs, "Meanwhile I'm just struggling to keep up with the other Xmen and not feel like an awkward newbie or outsider. Even though I've been at the school longer than her, she's probably more capable than me in the field simply because she's got caught up in some of the craziest adventures, and she's only sixteen.."

Megan pouts a bit, twiddling her thumbs, "I suppose I'll have to talk to her, just not sure if I really have the authority when I've been in fewer real world scenarios. Heck, I'm surprised she's not an Xman by now."

Rage has posed:
"I dunno, Megan. She just .. you know... she flies and that's about it. It's not like she has grenades strapped to her utility belt and she's raining hell from above. She just gets herself caught up in stuff, that's all. Miss Grey just needs to put an invisible fence on her at this point."

Andrea cracks a grin as she hops to her feet, heading for the kitchen. "I'm going to get a drink. Thinking it's Mai Thai Friday. You want one?" She's definitely a celebrity.

"And you know the rules. You gotta pass High School before you become a superhero, and then you gotta pass the interview, the psych eval, the conditioning."